Selective weft presenting device



Jan. 24, 1967 R. B. GOLOBART 3,299,909

SELECTIVE WEFT PRESENTING DEVICE Filed Sept. 16, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 24, 1967 R. B. GOLOBART SELECTIVE WEFT PRESENTING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 16, 1964 Jan- 24, 196 R. B. GOLOBART SELECTIVE WEFT PRESENTING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 16, 1964 Jan. 24, 1967 R. B. GOLOBART 3,299,909

SELECTIVE WEFT PRESENTING DEVVIGE Filed Sept. 16, 1964 5 Sheets-$heet 4 Jan. 24, 1967 R. B. GOLOBART SELECTIVE WEFT PRESENTING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 16, 1964 wuragw INVENTOR. RAMON 154M605? MAGS/7R7 United States Patent 1,994 7 Claims. (Cl. 139-122) This invention relates to a weft selecting device for presenting weft yarn to a weft-inserting member in fixedweft type looms, and for individual selection of the weft in such looms.

More particularly, the device operates in such a man ner that the weft yarn, once introduced into the shed and beaten up by the reed, is completely disengaged from the selvedge by cutting and retained in a position in which it is again ready to be picked up and introduced into the shed by the weft inserter in consecutive picks. The device according to the invention ensures that there is not the slightest chance of any weft yarn interfering with another nearby weft yarn, as occurs in cases in which mul tiple wefts form a smooth face of a fabric with the wefts starting from the mouthpieces or yarn guides of the weft-offering means and converging on to a common apex at the selvedge of the fabric, i.e. the joining place for the fabric. When the wefts are of high count it is very difficult with the conventional devices to select said wefts one by one by the weft-inserting member since they are so close together that the weft breaks or more than one weft yarn is picked up at a time or the weft-inserting element makes wrong picks since the weft yarn is wrongly positioned or is too loose.

Another great difficulty is that, if the weft yarns are tough or very tense, the weft-inserting member and its vice must exert considerable force, since it is the weftinserting element which, as it draws the weft yarn through the shed, produces the co-operating cutting operation. This involves the risks that the yarn slips in the said vice because it is not clamped firmly enough to withstand the pull, and that the tips of the weft which project from the selvedge are unequal, resulting in waste of material.

This invention obviates all these disadvantages since the device according to the invention controls, i.e., selects and offers for the weft, individually in cases where there are a number of wefts but only one is to be selected and offered, independently of all the others, to the Weft-inserting member. The nature of the fabric may be such as to require two simultaneous or identical wefts to be picked up by the weft-inserting member in a single pick, in which event the yarn guides and the weft yarns required by each weft-offering means are duplicated and the device operates with this feature.

Another advantage of the invention is that the weftotfering elements controlled by the device according to the invention can provide a constant presentation in cases where a uniform series of the same weft produces the fabric with the number of picks corresponding to such weft. This leads to an amplitude of weft distribution without the least risk of interferences and reduces the risks of the loom stopping substantially to zero, and also leads to a considerable increase in loom speed and economy.

The device according to the invention comprises a carriage or slide or the like formed by a sliding core bearing weft-offering elements and guided by a sheathed operating cable connected at one end to any known machine of the kind used for weft selection, the select-or cards being used in this case for a single drive applied to the carriage or slide or the like through the cable instead of the pattern distribution usually used for various weft yarns. The carriage or the like runs on rollers or balls with the interposition of a guiding support member readily connected at one end to a bearing member of the loom frame on the weft-inserting side, while at the other and free end of the guiding support member there is a carriage travel stop comprising a helical spring for the carriage return movement.

The weft-offering elements, which are preferably in the form of slide bars, are formed with straight slots receiving helical retaining springs tending towards the raised position, and the bottom end of each slide member is bent at right-angles to form a stationary jaw of the vice. Fitted to the bottom end of each slide member is a small internally cylindrical support member receiving a helical retaining spring biasing a piston having at its end a moving jaw which co-operates with the stationary jaw to form the weft-clamping vice associated with each slide member. The small support member is formed with a straight slot adapted for the passage of a pivot which serves to keep the vice open to allow the weft yarn to pass through freely for insertion in the shed; when the slide member is descending due to the action of a striking lever and when the weft has been beaten up by the reed, the weft yarn is introduced into the vice again after which the retaining string of the slide member makes the same rise to close the two jaws of the vice to again clamp the weft yarn.

Also mounted at the bottom end of each slide member is an arm which extends diagonally of the carriage and which bears an adjustable yarn guide in order that the weft yarn passing therethrough and retained by the vice is adapted to be pulled by the weft-inserting member.

Preferably, the slide members are moved in a vertical position, are placed one beside another and are received between two fiat plates which form the core of the carriage; all such plates project from the top of the carriage core enough for actuation by a striking lever; the bottom arm of said striking lever is operated by a rod articulated to an adjustable collar fitted to the end of a second lever whose other end is rockably mounted at a stationary part of the loom. A roller is rotatably mounted substantially at the centre of said second lever, the roller bearing against a cam of appropriate shape and transmitting the rising and descending movement via the rod to the bottom arm of the striking lever articulated to the crosspiece of the support member of the guiding support member, so that the top arm of the striking lever strikes hammerfashion whichever slide member that the operating cable has placed in an appropriate position for picking up the weft yarn.

When a single weft is required to make a number of consecutive picks, the slide member is retained in the lowered position by means of a trigger which prevents the pivot fitted of the slide member from rising. The pivot disengages automatically from the trigger when, for the convenience of weft-changing, it is also necessary to change the slide member which the carriage conveys through the agency of the operating cable, receiving it in the correct place for being struck by the striker or hammer which places the new slide member in a position for initiating the weft pick-up cycle.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of the device according to the invention partly sectioned to make the operation more readily understandable, in the position of selection by means of the cable and of offering the weft yarn by means of the striking lever, for take-off by the weft-inserting member (not shown);

FIGURE 2 is a section along the line A-A of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a section along the line B-B of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 4 shows the device according to the invention in the selection position with the slide members in the normal position, the vice being clamped on the weft yarn (not shown);

FIGURE shows the device in the position of offering the slide member, the vice being closed on the weft yarn (not shown);

FIGURE 6 shows the device in the offering position with the vice open to release the weft yarn (not shown), and

FIGURES 7 and 8 show partial perspective views of the device in operative position of One of the slide members, the respective vice being closed on the weft yarn.

Referring to FIGURES 1-3, the core of a sliding carriage 1 bears slide members 2 for offering weft yarns 3, the carriage 1 is guided by a support member 8 and positioned by a sheathed operating cable 4 having one end connected to any machine (not shown) of the kind used for weft selection. The selector cards of such type machine are used in the present case for a single control applied to the said cable instead of the pattern distribution usually used for various weft yarn. The other end of the cable 4 is connected to a sleeve 5 of the carriage 1 (FIG- URE 1) which runs on balls or rollers 6 (FIGURE 3), rollers in this example. Rollers 6 are borne by the rear cover 7 of the carriage 1 and ride on said guiding support member 8 which is formed as a rod of rectangular cross-section. The member 8 is readily secured at one end 9 (FIGURE 1) by screws 10 to a support or hearing member 11 of the loom on the side where the weft (not shown) is inserted. The other and free end 12 of the member 8 carries an abutment or stop 13 which is made of a vibration-damping material and which serves to limit the return travel of the carriage 1. A helical spring 14 is received in a straight slot 15 in the member 8 and has one end connected to an adjustable tensioning screw 16 at the end near the stop 13. The other end of the spring 14 is connected to a recess (not shown) in the sleeve 5 in order to urge the slide member always to the right as viewed in FIG. 1.

The slide members 2 are formed with straight longitudinal slots 17 (FIGURE 1). Each slot 17 is adapted to receive a helical expansion spring 18 which bears at one end against the top surface 19 of the slot 17 and at the other end against a projection 20. Projection 20 is connected to the carriage 1 by a screw 21 (FIGURE 3). Springs 18 act to urge the slide members 2 to their inoperative raised position. The bottom end 23 of the slide members (FIGURE 1 and 3) is bent at right-angles to form a stationary vice jaw 22. Secured to said bottom end is a small internally cylindrical support member 24 receiving a helical retaining spring 25 biasing downward piston 26. The lower end of said piston 26 carriers fitted to its end a. movable jaw 27 which co-operates with the stationary jaw 22 to form the weft-clamping vice associated with each straight-edge 2. The small support member 24 is formed with a straight slot 28 giving passage to a pin 29 rigidly secured to the piston 26. When the slide member 2 is pushed downwardly (FIGURE 1 and 3), the vice formed by the jaws 22, 27 is kept in the closed state by the pressure of the spring 25 and clamps the weft yarn 3 until said pin 29 abuts against an adjustable stop 30. As seen in FIGURES 3 and 8, stop 30 acts to engage and retain jaw 27 as the slide 2 continues its descent. The jaws 22, 27 of the vice are thereby opened to allow the weft yarn 3 (FIGURE 1) to pass through freely during insertion thereof into the shed in the conventional manner by the movement of the weft inserting member of the loom.

Also secured to the bottom end 23 of each slide member 2 is an arm 31 (FIGURES 1, 7 and 8) which extends diagonally of the carriage 1 and bears weft presenting means 32, in order that the yarn 3 passing through said means 32 and retained by the vice jaws 22, 27 is in position to be engaged and pulled by the weft-inserting member 60. The weft presenting means 32 can be adjusted by means of screws 32'. The weft inserting member 60 may be of any conventional type. In FIGS. 7 and 8 it is shown, for example, diagrammatically as a needle provided with a hook 60 and a movable gripping element 60". In operation said gripping element holds the weft drawn through the shed until it has been beaten up. The beat-up operation causes the end of the inserted filler thread, which lies at the side of the weft presenting means 32 and has not yet been cut, to be placed between the jaws 22, 27, which are now open, and is then clamped by said jaws being closed. A separate member for placing the filler thread between said jaws is not required. Subsequently, the filler thread is cut and released from the clamping means 60", whereupon the weft inserting member 60 is again passed through the shed in order to fetch, in the position shown in FIG. 7, the next filler thread. Said members are known and not part of this invention.

The position of the abutment 30 associated with the opening of the vice is controlled, as shown in FIGURES 4-6, by the movement in a straight slot 33 in the bottom end 34 of the lower arm 35 of an adjustable support member 36 hearing against a sliding sleeve 37 with the interposition of an angle-bar 38 received in the support member 11 of the member 8. The support member 36 is not movable in operation but its position may be adjusted by means of the adjusting screw 37 and the adjusting nuts 38, 38". The other top arm of the adjustable support member 36 has at its end a sleeve 39. To said sleeve 39, there is secured the screw-threaded end of a spindle 41 bearing a rockable trigger 40 which is urged by means of a helical spring 42 in clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3. The trigger 40 retains the pin 43 (FIGURE 5) of the slide member 2 in the lowered position thereof for as many picks as the same selected weft yarn is required to be offered and inserted.

To pass from one slide member 2 to another, the carriage 1 is moved after the lever 44 has first been raised so that the pin 43 is automatically disengaged from the retaining trigger 40 by the lateral displacement of said carriage 1 with respect to said trigger 40. As a result the spring 18 expands and raises the slide member 2. The yarn carriage is then in condition for the succeeding selected slide member to be positioned for initiating another weft pickup cycle.

Preferably, the slide members are moved in a vertical position and are disposed adjacent one another and received in the carriage 1, whereby all the slide members project from the top of the carriage far enough for actuation by striking lever 44 (FIGURES 1 and 2); the bottom arm 45 of the striking lever has its end 46 pivoted to and operated by a rod 47 which is pivotally connected to an adjusting sleeve 48 secured to the end 49 of the arm 50 of a lever 51; the end 52 of the other arm 53 of said lever is mounted for rocking movement at a stationary part 54 of the loom (not shown). A roller 55 is rotatably mounted substantially at the centre of the lever 51 and bears against an appropriately shaped cam 56 for transmitting the rising and descending movement via the rod 47 to the bottom arm 45 of the striking lever 44. Said lever bears against a sleeve 57 of the cross member of the support member 11 of the guiding support member 8, so that the top arm 58 of the striking lever 44 strikes whichever slide member 2 of the carriage 1 has been placed by the operating cable 4 in an appropriate position for picking up the weft yarn 3.

What I claim is:

1. A weft selecting device for looms comprising stationary support means for attachment to the frame of the.

members provided with horizontally bent ends carried in said carriage for vertical sliding movement through said carriage, striking means pushing a selected one of said slide members downwardly into weft presenting position, cam means actuating said striking means, and spring means holding the slide members not acturated by said striking means in inoperative raised position.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 comprising a pair of weft clamping members provided at the lower end of each of said slide members, the first of said clamping members being formed by said horizontally bent end of the slide member, the second clamping member being attached to said slide member for vertical movement with respect to said first member, a spring carried by said slide member urging said second clamping member against said first member, and stop means arresting said second clamping member toward the end of the downward push of the slide member and thereby opening said pair of clamping members against the action of said spring.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said slide members are provided with a longitudinal slot receiving said spring means.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1 including an arm extending from the bottom end of said slide members diagonally of said carriage and adjustable weft presenting means at the end of said arm.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1 comprising rollers carrying said carriage on said support means and said support means being provided with a slit housing said spring.

6. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said striking means is a two armed striking lever pivotally supported on said support means.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6 including drive means connecting said ca m means with one arm of said two armed lever, said drive means comprising a rod attached to said one arm, a second lever, one end of said second lever actuating said rod, the other end being held stationary on the loom, and a roller on said second lever between said two ends in operative engagement with said cam means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,943,012 1/1934 Gabler 139122 2,553,351 5/1951 Belotti 139-127 2,594,398 4/1952 Cooper 139-122 OTHER REFERENCES German application No. 1,024,028, Zangs, December 1954.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

DONALD W. PARKER, Examiner.

H. S. JAUDON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A WEFT SELECTING DEVICE FOR LOOMS COMPRISING STATIONARY SUPPORT MEANS FOR ATTACHMENT TO THE FRAME OF THE LOOM, A HORIZONTALLY SLIDABLE CARRIAGE GUIDED ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS, A CABLE AND SPRING MEANS POSITIONING SAID CARRIAGE, STOP MEANS PROVIDED AT SAID SUPPORT MEANS FOR LIMITING THE TRAVEL OF SAID CARRIAGE, WEFT PRESENTING SLIDE MEMBERS PROVIDED WITH HORIZONTALLY BENT ENDS CARRIED IN 